By Lane Afable, News Editor
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida confirmed that fugitive lawmaker Zaldy Co is no longer in the custody of the Czech Republic.
In a press briefing from Prague that began Monday midnight (Manila time), Vida said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was already informed of the “difficult news.”
“We moved as quickly as we could. But we are working across sovereign borders,” he said.
“Every country has its own laws, processes and timelines, and we cannot compel a foreign government to act outside its legal framework,” he added.
Vida said Co is in the Schengen area and is likely moving by land, given that his cancelled passport makes air travel difficult.
“What we can confirm is that he is within the Schengen area. That is the workable intel that we have,” he said.
“All our listening posts in the European Union have been alerted and are monitoring,” Vida added.
Vida also confirm Co is traveling with his son Michael as he continues to evade Philippine authorities across Europe.
A DOJ source bare that a Filipino driver has been accompanying Zaldy and Michael Co around Europe.
Furthermore, the source said, authorities are still verifying the driver’s relation with the former lawmaker.
Czech Republic has land borders with Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia.
Vida, who was accompanied by Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes executive director Romeo Prestoza, said the country has submitted additional documents to Interpol to support the red notice request against Co.
“With the voluminous documents we submitted, we expect that Interpol would grant our request,” Prestoza said.
Vida said documents from the DOJ, National Bureau of Investigation, Ombudsman, and Commission on Audit were transmitted to Interpol.
The Philippines made the request to Interpol in November last year.
Co left the Philippines in mid-2025 for a medical check-up but did not return after the government launched a crackdown on alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
His passport was later cancelled and his travel authority revoked after he was implicated in budget insertions and irregularities in flood control projects.
